Big Money is cash for Cavs
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
November 17, 2004

It was only fitting that Virginia tight end Heath Miller was standing in the end zone before the game on Saturday against Miami.

It is a place that Miller frequents. In three seasons, the Swords Creek native has 20 touchdowns, the most ever by a tight end in the ACC.

On this occasion, however, Miller and 25 other teammates stood with their families as they prepared to be introduced as a part of Virginia’s Senior Day ceremonies.

Like a few of the other honorees, Miller has a year of eligibility left if he decides to return to Virginia next season as a graduate student. Miller is on track to get an undergraduate degree in May in sociology.

So, is there something to read into from Miller’s appearance with the other seniors?

“Actually, I was just following orders,” Miller said on Tuesday. “My parents were invited to go out on the field, so when I saw them out there I just assumed I was supposed to be out there as well.”

After receiving a warm ovation when his name was called, Miller went on to make three catches for 45 yards and a dazzling one-handed touchdown reception on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Marques Hagans.

With the exception of a five-catch game from tailback Alvin Pearman, Miller got little help.

Moments after the loss Hagans was quick to take the blame. The junior signal caller completed just 10 of his 25 passes for 94 yards and tossed two interceptions.

Miller said that was not fair.

“I feel like as a group, as a passing unit, we need to get things improved in all areas,”Miller said, “The blame doesn’t need to be placed on his shoulders. We are going to look to regroup this week in practice and fix those problems.”

Knowing that Virginia can win a share of the ACC title if they win the final two games has given Miller enough motivation.

“We realize to be in the best position we need to win the final two games, and it starts this weekend, so we are just basically concentrating on things we need to do to beat Georgia Tech on Saturday,” Miller said.

Needing a win against Georgia Tech is nothing new for Miller and his teammates.

Last season, the Cavaliers entered the contest with the Yellow Jackets staring at a 5-5 record and playing for their postseason dreams.

The Cavaliers responded. And so did Miller.

The tight end caught six passes from former quarterback Matt Schaub for

110 yards. Miller also scored a touchdown in the first quarter en route to a 29-17 win over Georgia Tech.

“We were coming off a tough loss and we really had to regroup as a team and that’s the main thing that I remember,” Miller said. “We really came together and played with a lot of fire and inspiration and executed very well. I really feel like it was [a do-or-die game]. It was a turning point in the year for us, and our season definitely could have went south, but we recouped and ended on a very positive note.”

Miller knows it will be a tough task, especially given that the game is on the road.

“I think it’s definitely harder to play on the road, but Coach [Al] Groh always tells us that what happens between the white lines is all that matters,” Miller said. “It is the same story as every week -play hard, limit the penalties, limit the turnovers and make good plays.”

With only two regular-season games left, Miller knows the time is near for him to make an important decision about playing on Saturday’s in the ACC or on Sunday’s in the NFL.

In the program for the Miami game, Miller was quoted as saying: “I plan on playing during my last year of eligibility and attending graduate school.”

When asked on Tuesday about his future plans, Miller said he has not given much thought to it.

“I am focused on the remainder of the season right now,’ Miller said. “I haven’t really given it much thought, but I am sure it will come later.”

A look at ACC bowl picture
Tire Bowl could get jump on picking Clemson or UNC
KEN TYSIAC
Raleigh Bureau

Continental Tire Bowl officials are asking themselves difficult questions this week.

Bowls higher up in the ACC's selection order might release North Carolina and Clemson to the Charlotte-based Continental Tire Bowl as early as today.

"We'd be willing to help out the conference if they asked us to," said communications director Brett Sowell of Florida Citrus Sports, whose Champs Sports Bowl has the third non-Bowl Championship Series pick from the ACC. "... Being in the bowl business, we know how good it is to get teams early."

Indeed. Should North Carolina and/or Clemson get released and then win Saturday to become eligible, the Continental Tire Bowl could select one of those teams immediately and begin selling tickets and marketing the Dec. 30 game.

But 6-5 is the best record North Carolina and Clemson can achieve with defeats of rivals Duke and South Carolina, respectively, Saturday. And should Virginia Tech lose two more games, there is a chance the Hokies would be available at 8-4.

Problem is, the Continental Tire Bowl would lose two weeks of marketing time by waiting until after the Dec. 4 Miami-Virginia Tech game for a shot at the Hokies that might never come.

"It's just so confusing this year," said Continental Tire Bowl Director Will Webb.

The most likely destinations for North Carolina and Clemson, should they become eligible, are the Continental Tire and MPC Computer (formerly Humanitarian) bowls.

Webb said Georgia Tech (6-3) isn't in the mix for the Continental Tire Bowl now. MPC Computers Bowl executive director Gary Beck said that given a choice, his bowl likely would invite Clemson or North Carolina ahead of Georgia Tech because the Yellow Jackets traveled to Boise, Idaho, for that game last season.

"I think the ACC prefers not to send a team back to the bowl they were in the year before," Beck said.

Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech remain serious contenders for the ACC's BCS bid, from which Virginia has yet to be eliminated. The Gator will pick next, and is considering those schools.

Peach Bowl President Gary Stokan figures Florida State will go to the BCS or Gator and expects to choose Miami, Virginia, Virginia Tech or Georgia Tech. Those also are the candidates for the Champs Sports Bowl.

If Georgia Tech fails to secure one of those bids, it could slide past the Continental Tire and MPC Computers bowls to an at-large bid in a slot the Pac-10 or SEC can't fill. Possibilities include the Las Vegas, Emerald, Houston and Silicon Valley bowls.

Webb said the Continental Tire Bowl's Big East representative also is difficult to predict. Connecticut or West Virginia could oppose the ACC in the bowl.

"They're appealing for very different reasons," Webb said. "West Virginia would travel anywhere. Connecticut would be looking at their first bowl game."

There is a chance Notre Dame could take the Big East's slot.

Webb is to travel to the ACC offices in Greensboro today to learn whether the Gator, Peach and Champs Sports bowls would release North Carolina and Clemson to the Continental Tire Bowl. Officials at all three bowls said Monday they were willing to do so.

'Hoos looking to bounce back
On the Front Row
Chris Graham
chris@augustafreepress.com

Virginia is now oh-for-two against the state of Florida.

The second loss, a 31-21 home defeat to Miami on Saturday, might prove to be tougher to come back from than the first.

The Cavaliers (7-2, 4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) followed up their 36-3 loss at Florida State in October with a convincing win over last-place Duke and then a bye week.

This time around, the comedown features road games at Georgia Tech (6-3, 4-3 ACC) and Virginia Tech (7-2, 4-1 ACC) - two schools that have not been particularly gracious hosts in the past.

The question that begs to be asked here ... can the 'Hoos put aside the disappointment of the Miami contest and make another run at the conference title?

"For the team, having been a player and being around players for a long time, is it harder sometimes for them to put the disappointment behind them the second time around? Not if you're going to be any good," coach Al Groh said Monday.

UVa. still controls its destiny to a large degree. With wins in Atlanta and Blacksburg, the Cavs would do no worse than tie for the ACC championship, and they could sneak into the conference's Bowl Championship Series slot pending the outcomes of games down the stretch involving the Hurricanes and the Seminoles.

That should provide enough motivation for the team to bounce back, Groh said.

"That's the goal in the first place," the coach said. "There are none of those intermediate targets during the course of the year for us. There might be for others. As I've said repeatedly, if you're in a conference, you're in it for one purpose, to try to win the conference championship. Otherwise, you might as well be an independent. That's what you're in it for.

"All you can do right now, all you can control, as a team, in this conference, is to win your conference. That's all you can control. So that's what you try to do," Groh said.

"Look, our job is different than everybody else's job. Our job is to get ready for games and win. Your job is to keep the readers interested. You can create all the scenarios and analyze the mindset of the players and the coaches, and all that business. That's interesting. I like to read about other teams in that circumstance, because I'm a fan at heart, too. But I also know that that's just all it is," Groh said.

Will Miller be running NFL routes next year?
Will Virginia's Miller be running his routes in the NFL next season? Record-setting tight end is taking the fifth on a fifth yea
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Nov 17, 2004
U.VA. AT GA. TECH
SATURDAY: 1 p.m.
ON THE AIR: TV - ABC; radio - WRVA (1140), 12:30

CHARLOTTESVILLE - If Heath Miller isn't the best tight end in college football, he's close. He's also close to finishing work on his bachelor's degree in sociology, which means a major decision is looming for the pride of Swords Creek.

Miller, a senior academically, redshirted after joining University of Virginia coach Al Groh's program in 2001, so he has another season of eligibility remaining. But he's scheduled to graduate in May, and if he chooses to enter the next NFL draft, Miller almost certainly will be among the first tight ends chosen.

"I haven't really allowed myself to think about that," Miller said last week.

Asked yesterday about the possibility that he'll leave early for the NFL, he said, "I'm just focused on the remainder of the season right now. I haven't really given it much thought, but I'm sure it'll come later."

Miller said he has yet to start "determining what would be a pro and what would be a con for staying or going."

The Cavaliers played their final home game of the season Saturday. Before the game against Miami, U.Va. honored 26 fourth- and fifth-year players, including Miller and two other starters who have eligibility remaining and are expected back in 2005 - offensive guard Brian Barthelmes and defensive end Brennan Schmidt.

Don't read anything into his participation in the ceremony, Miller advised reporters yesterday.

"I was just following orders," he said, chuckling. "I understand that my parents were invited to go out on the field, so when I saw them out there, I just assumed that I was supposed to be out there as well."

The 6-5, 255-pound Miller led the nation's tight ends with 70 catches for 835 yards and six touchdowns in 2003. He was named a Playboy All-American before this season and has lived up to his reputation. Through nine games, Miller leads the 18th-ranked Cavaliers in receptions (29), receiving yards (403) and touchdown catches (five).

For his career, Miller has 132 receptions for 1,566 yards and 20 TDs, all school records at his position.

Coach's plan paying off for U.Va.
State freshmen have helped Cavaliers earn high seed in the NCAA tournament
BY JERRY LINDQUIST
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Nov 17, 2004

About a year ago, University of Virginia coach George Gelnovatch, tired of attracting nationally prominent players only to watch them leave for the pros before their eligibility expired, decided to go in a different direction.

He would start scouring the state for talent that might have slipped under the radar. For the first time, his perpetual top-20 program would have homegrown building blocks.

"I have a plan," Gelnovatch said. "Time will tell."

He knew it was a drastic step, and while the Cavaliers wouldn't ignore the higher-profile players (i.e., Parade All-Americans), he couldn't afford to keep losing them prematurely and having to reload over and over again. Naturally, there were critics who suggested this was an act of desperation and, with Virginia Tech on the rise and William and Mary so dependent on state talent, Gelnovatch could regret it.

Maybe he will, but not now, not when the Cavaliers (17-4-0) are seeded fourth in the NCAA playoffs coming off their second consecutive ACC tournament title with a squad that includes eight freshmen from Virginia.

"Even if we lose the first game, we're definitely heading in the right direction," Gelnovatch said yesterday.

At least four of the newcomers from the Old Dominion have played vital roles. The most visible of late has been Jeremy Barlow from Herndon.

The smallish midfielder had a pair of game-winning goals plus an assist and was named MVP in the conference tournament. Before the start of the season, when he projects his lineup, Gelnovatch had Barlow in the "should contribute" category.

"Off the bench," the coach said. "I try not to count on any freshmen, [but] he's been starting from day one. The last third of the season, he's been scoring goals. He's been dangerous, and he's been playing with more savvy. He's just gotten better."

Maryland, Connecticut and Virginia Tech also wanted Barlow.

"I don't think he was a total secret," Gelnovatch said. "We recruited him pretty hard. He was a Virginia kid interested in our school and our program. He was convinced at our place he could get better - and he has. That's for sure."

After the Cavaliers disposed of Maryland 2-1 for the ACC title, Gelnovatch knew the MVP undoubtedly would be one of his own, but who?

"I've got a bunch of good players, [but] we are the ultimate team," he said. "As long as I have been here [in nine years as head coach], from top to bottom - starting lineup and the next five guys - this has been more of a team than any group I've had."

Understandably then, Barlow's reaction to being selected MVP was to be expected.

"The look on his face was surprise," Gelnovatch said.

 

Deflated Cavaliers Readjust Their Sights
By Jim Reedy
Special to The Washington Post
Tuesday, November 16, 2004; Page D08

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Nov. 15 -- So what now for Virginia's football team? Where do the Cavaliers go from here, now that they have squandered two chances to prove themselves on a national stage and have almost no shot at a Bowl Championship Series berth?

Despite dropping from 10th to 18th in the national rankings after Saturday's 31-21 loss to Miami, Virginia's most immediate goal is still within reach. It would earn a share of the ACC championship with wins in its final two regular season games: this week at Georgia Tech and next week at Virginia Tech.

Marques Hagans, an ACC player of the year hopeful after five games, has struggled successively against Duke, Maryland and Miami. (John Mcdonnell -- The Washington Post)

"That's the goal in the first place," Coach Al Groh said. "If you're in a conference, you're in it for one purpose: to try to win the conference championship. Otherwise, you might as well be an independent."

Thus the Cavaliers (7-2, 4-2) will spend the week focusing on Georgia Tech (6-3, 4-3), which has revived its season with four wins in five games. They will work to fix the defensive and special teams breakdowns that cost them against Miami and had Groh, unable to sleep, at his office Sunday morning at 3:45. They will attempt to reverse the month-long decline of quarterback Marques Hagans and the passing game.

The Cavaliers have a lot of work to do -- "We knew it was never going to be easy," tailback Alvin Pearman said -- but the reward, they said, remains great.

"The conference championship is something that none of us on this team have ever achieved," outside linebacker Jon Thompson said. "That's a huge thing in and of itself."

Virginia, which shared the ACC title in 1989 and 1995, could tie for first place with Florida State (8-2, 6-2) and perhaps Virginia Tech (7-2, 4-1) or Miami (7-2, 4-2), but it would be almost impossible for the Cavaliers to earn the conference's automatic BCS berth. To win any of the three possible tiebreakers, they would need to be ahead -- in some cases well ahead -- of the other contenders in the BCS rankings. They are 19th right now, trailing No. 8 FSU, No. 12 Miami and No. 15 Virginia Tech.

First, though, the Cavaliers have to win two on the road, where Groh's four Virginia teams are 7-13. Georgia Tech's Bobby Dodd Stadium has been the site of some of the toughest losses in Virginia history, including a pair of 41-38 defeats that knocked the Cavs from the ranks of the unbeaten in both 1990 and 1998. They haven't succeeded there since a 24-7 win in 1994.

Groh said he's not worried about the ghosts of Cavaliers teams past, but he is eager to see improvement from a passing game that foundered against Duke, Maryland and Miami in the past month. Hagans, an ACC player of the year hopeful after five games, has completed only 50 percent of his passes for 371 yards in the last three games. He has completed 8 of 24 on throws to wide receivers, including 3 of 14 to Deyon Williams.

The team needs to find a solution, Groh said, but it can't allow its collective focus to be shaken by outsiders.

"When things don't go well," Groh said, "the winds of negativity blow in like a hurricane. . . . That happens very quickly to a team, and that happens very quickly to certain positions like quarterback."

Wide receiver Michael McGrew spoke of the challenge by echoing another of Groh's favorite analogies -- that of a boxer fighting to get up after a knockdown.

"The wind's kind of been knocked out of us, so we've just got to get back and know that we're a good football team," McGrew said. "We're 7-2. Let's finish with two wins."

Cavaliers Notes: Nose tackle Andrew Hoffman should be ready to go this week after missing nearly all of the Miami game because of a concussion. . . . Chris Johnson started at defensive end instead of Kwakou Robinson against the Hurricanes because Robinson had been lax in his academic responsibilities last week. Their play in practice this week will determine who starts in Atlanta. . . . Virginia's game at Virginia Tech, like this week's game, will start at 1 p.m. and be televised by ABC.
 

Ferguson beefs up, delivers for Cavaliers
Once a lightweight as a true freshman, junior left tackle adds pounds, experience to solidify Virginia's offensive line
Walker Freer, Cavalier Daily Senior Writer

D'Brickashaw Ferguson has never been one to worry about losing weight. For him, it's been just the opposite. As an aspiring offensive lineman, he has had his own type of weight problems.

"For me, it'd be easier to lose weight," Ferguson said. "Gaining weight is a hard thing to do."

While it might have been hard for Ferguson to gain weight in high school, he's had no trouble since arriving at Virginia. When he made his first start as a true freshman, Ferguson weighed in at roughly 260 pounds. In the beefed-up world of college football it's not uncommon for offensive lineman to weigh well over 300 pounds, but anything under 280 is unheard of. Two years worth of dining hall food later, Ferguson, now a junior, is listed in the media guide at a solid 295.

For all those hoping for future offensive line glory, Ferguson has some weight gaining advice.

"You just have to make sure you're eating on a regular schedule and that you're getting your calories," he said.

Although Ferguson might approach the subject candidly, when you're in charge of protecting one of the most important players on the team, every pound and every muscle count.

"I think it's helped me a lot," Ferguson said of his weight gain. Blocking "is a test now because I don't have any excuses. I can block my defender a lot better than before."

As starter at left tackle, Ferguson's job when dropping back in pass protection is to safeguard Hagans' blind side.

"I just know that as an offensive lineman, if I make errors at pivotal moments, that it will really hurt the whole team," Ferguson said.

Since arriving on Grounds, Ferguson has benefited from facing senior defensive end Chris Canty every day in practice. Under his tutelage, Ferguson has matured from a clueless freshman into a seasoned veteran, ripe with NFL potential.

"For those two kids [Canty and Ferguson], that's a pretty good opponent that they work against all day long," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "D'Brickashaw is just a season behind [Chris] in eligibility and won't work against any more imposing players during the course of the season."

Entering this Saturday's game at Georgia Tech, Ferguson has started 36 consecutive games for the Cavaliers -- one short of tying the all-time Virginia offensive line record held by Ray Roberts. Only adding to the effectiveness of Ferguson is the experience he shares with his fellow offensive linemen. The entire unit returned intact from last year and between the five combine for 142 starts.

"I think it's good that we have more of a dominant line," Ferguson said. "We have more options now."

More options are always better, especially in the running game. Blocking for a running back is a completely different animal than pass protection blocking. Groh's love for the practice of "pulling" -- when offensive linemen leave their blocks and move downfield to lead for a running back -- is a technique few linemen can master. Pulling gives linemen the freedom to execute mind-numbing blocks downfield while opening up holes and helping to spring the backs for bigger gains.

The closest adage for the situation would be going from being the hunted, to becoming the hunter. When offensive linemen make the transformation from dropping back in pass protection to pulling downfield, it gives them the freedom to headhunt linebackers and safeties that stand in their way, a small retribution for the abuse they take on defensive blitzes.

Not only has he matured on the football field physically and mentally, Ferguson also has emerged as a noted contender on the team ... in competitive eating.

"In the past I might have been a loser, Ferguson said. "But now I might be a serious prospect."

Deep frontcourt works to live up to potential
Described by Gillen as 'monster,' senior Clark joins veterans Brown, Minter, newcomers Soryoe, Joseph in paint
Becky Piedel, Cavalier Daily Senior Associate Editor

Jason Clark is accustomed to labels. During his tenure at Virginia, Clark has been dubbed a warrior and a soldier -- names he accepts with his trademark beaming grin.

But his latest tag, which comes courtesy of Virginia coach Pete Gillen, has left Clark a bit baffled.

"He's a monster," Gillen said of the 6-foot-8, 240-pound Virginia Beach native. "I just love his toughness. He's unselfish. He just plays."

After a laugh, Clark modestly shrugged off Gillen's bogeyman branding.

"I just go out there and try to play both ends with a lot of intensity and a lot of emotion," he said. "A monster? That's new to me, but I take that as a great compliment coming from Coach Gillen."

All antics aside, Clark is one in a line of versatile and athletic players in the Virginia frontcourt this season who will look to help the Cavaliers through the ACC and back to the NCAA tournament.

That help comes in all shapes and sizes, the biggest being senior center Elton Brown. Gillen said that for the Cavaliers to be successful, Brown will need to be a presence in the paint and grab nine or 10 rebounds per contest. The senior tri-captain has responded accordingly thus far, recording a combined 26 rebounds to go along with 37 points in Virginia's two exhibition games, and limiting himself to only two erratic three-point field goal attempts, one of which he made.

"He's our big mouth, our big motivator," Clark said. "He's out there calling for the ball, rebounding, defending, and he's also a hard worker."

Six-foot-11-inch freshman Tunji Soroye, a slender-framed, gangly-armed native of Nigeria, has talent that can be described only as raw by his teammates and coaches.

Another freshman, 6-foot-7-inch Adrian Joseph, has been marked by Gillen as the team's "best athlete." Joseph, who is capable of playing at the two, three or four against smaller teams, won't hesitate to agree with his coach.

"I think that's a true statement," Joseph said. "I'm just trying to put it to use on the basketball court, trying to do everything the team wants me to do -- rebound, score, pass, shoot, play defense."

Rounding out the power line is forward-center combo Donte Minter, who saw action for the first time this season versus Marymount University Nov. 12. Minter suffered a minor preseason knee injury and is still not at 100 percent physically, Gillen said, but the sophomore showed signs of improvement against the Saints, going 3-3 from the field for nine points in four minutes.

"We're going to have to get him an oxygen tank because he hasn't played a lot," Gillen said. "But there are not a lot of people in the country who can score with their back to the basket, and he can do that. He's got long arms, he's gangly, he's kind of mopey up and down, but he's tough to guard inside."

To defend against the Sean Mays and Julius Hodges of the ACC, Virginia's frontcourt will not only need to use its size and dexterity, but also stay healthy and preserve its deep corps on the bench. They might even have to be monsters at times.

The Cavaliers will have an early chance at establishing themselves on the inside Sunday, when they host preseason No. 10 Arizona. The Wildcats return last year's leading big man, 6-foot-11 senior Channing Frye, and a pair of 6-foot-10 sophomores in Kirk Walters and Ivan Radenovic. Also in the mix will be defensive specialist Isaiah Fox, who returns after suffering a season-ending knee injury last year, and 7-foot-2-inch freshman skyscraper Charles Okwandu.

While the Cavaliers will face a lofty challenge from Arizona, Jason Clark already has his alter ego ready to unleash on the Wildcats.

"I guess I'll be big Jason Voorhees from 'Friday the 13th,'" he said. "Jasons got to stick together. He's my man."

But when Clark takes the court Sunday, the Cavaliers probably won't want him to resemble his monster counterpart too much -- Voorhees may have had brandished a chainsaw, but he was also a zombie.